Brassiere



Sept. 18, 1962 e. DERNBURG BRASSIERE Filed Aug. 20, 1959 3,054,407 BRASSIERE Greta Dernburg, 1560 N. Laurel Ave., Los Angeles 46, Calif. Filed Aug. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 835,111 4 Claims. (Cl. 128-472) My invention relates to brassieres and is particularly suitable for use with strapless brassieres of the type worn by women as an undergarment with an evening dress or off-the-shoulder sport clothes. Numerous strap less brassieres providing a pair of cups having a lower support member in the form of a wire continuously secured along the bottom portion of the cups and designed to fit beneath the breasts and aid in the support thereof are in common use. However, brassieres of this type have proven unsatisfactory because of their tendency to slide downwardly away from the proper supporting position and to even fall forward at the separation of the breasts allowing the breasts to urge together exhibiting an undesirable amount of cleavage. This difiiculty is accentuated in the fuller type or so-called problem shaped bust and it is an object of the invention to provide a novel brassiere particularly well suited to this type of bust but useful also in the proper supporting of the breasts of the smaller figure.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a brassiere having a pair of spaced cups wherein a curved lower support member aids in maintaining the brassiere in proper wearing position and the region between the spaced cups is held firmly against the sternum of the wearers body.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a strapless brassiere having a pair of spaced cups Wherein a curved lower support member is pivotally secured only at points adjacent the cups so that it pivots or floats from the cup portion of the brassiere and rides beneath the breasts and adjacent the lower chest region of the wearer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a strap-.1 less brassiere having a pair of spaced cups wherein the base of the cups is substantially defined by upper and lower curved support members.

A further object of this invention is to provide a strapless brassiere having a pair of spaced cups, and upper and lower curved support members defining the base of the cups, the upper support member being continuously secured along the top edges of the cup portions and the lower support member being pivotally secured to the garment exclusively at points spaced from each other.

Another object of this invention is to provide a strapless brassiere having a pair of spaced cups, and upper and lower curved support members defining the base of the cups, the lower support member being pivotally secured thereto and aiding in the support of the brassiere in proper wearing position, in the support of the breasts in a youthful, uplifting manner, and in urging the region between the cups toward the sternum of the wearer.

A further object of this invention is to provide a strapless brassiere wherein a curved lower support member floats relative to the remainder of the structure and prevents the brassiere from sliding downwardly from the proper breast-supporting position and wherein the region between the cups of the brassiere is urged against the 3,054,497 Patented Sept. 18, 1962 sternum of the wearer without causing a flattening of the breasts.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description. The drawing merely shows and the description merely describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention shown in relation to a wearer;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the invention taken along the arrowed line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the lines 44 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the lines 55 of FIG. 3.

The drawings show a strapless brassiere 10 formed of a pair of tapered spaced cups 12 suitably secured to or made a part of a body-encircling member including a midriff portion or band 14 connected to the cups and traversed by a plurality of vertically extending rigidifying members or stays 16. The midrifI" portion 14 includes a front panel 17, side panels 18 providing elastic strips 19 for size flexibility, and rear panels 20 providing for any common securing means in order to hold the brassiere in position about the wearer. A central stay 16:: extends upward in the intercup portion of the garment. Two breast-supporting stays 16b extend upward in stay passages of the front panel 17 and in .the lower portions of the respective cups. Two side stays are in stay passages of the respective side panels 18.

The cups 12 are diametrically aligned and spaced laterally apart. Each of the cups 12 has a base with an upper edge 13 and a lower edge 15 outlined by an upper support wire 21 and a lower support wire 22 respectively. A soft padded fabric sheathing 23 preferably covers both support wires but can be eliminated on the upper wire if the latter is encased in a seam or tape binding of the garment. The upper support wire 21 is continuously secured to the upper edges 13 of the cups 12 as by stitching its sheathing to such upper edges. This upper support wire comprises two arcuate portions merging in a shallow V-shaped or junction region 25 between the cups 12. The ends of the upper support wire 21 preferably terminate adjacent the side stays 160, the sheathing 23 being there sewed to the stay passages for such stays, see FIG. 5.

The lower support Wire 22 is formed of two semicircular portions 26 preferably merging in a junction region 27 which may be of inverted U shape or V shape. The junction region 27 extends upward between the breasts to a position adjacent the junction region 25 of the upper support wire 21. It may extend slightly above the region 25 as suggested in FIG. 4 The particular shape of the junction region 27 is not critical and may be varied to suit the particular design desired. Instead of being continuously secured to the brassiere 10, as is the upper support wire 21, the lower support wire 22 is pivotally secured thereto at spaced points. As shown, the outer ends of the lower support wire are pivotally secured to the garment at points 30, 31 respectively adjacent the i outer edges of the cups 12, preferably by sewing the ends of the sheathing for the lower support wire 22 to the garment material adjacent the tops of the corresponding side stays 16c, see FIG. 5. Also, the crest of the junction region 27 between the cups 12 is pivotally connected to the garment adjacent the junction region 25 of the upper support wire 21 at point 32, preferably by sewing the sheathing of the two junction portions together or to the adjacent garment material, preferably both as suggested in FIG. 4. The shape of the lower support wire 22 is preferably such as to dispose the crest of the junction region 27 at a level above the ends thereof so that the point 32 is above a line joining the points 30* and 31.

The lower support wire 22, being pivotally secured at a trinity of points, exhibits a floating action to and from the body of the wearer. When in use, the floating lower support wire 22 fits snugly beneath the breasts of the wearer aiding in the uplift thereof yet spaced from the cups 12 at the bottoms thereof, see FIG. 2, so that when the upper support wire 21 tends to slip downwardly the support wire 22 clings substantially to the lower chest region of the wearers body thereby retaining the entire garment in proper wearing and breast-support position.

While both the upper support wire 21 and the lower support wire 22 are curved, as previously mentioned, in a vertical plane as viewed in FIG. 3, they preferably tend to remain flat or in a straight angle or 180 in a transverse plane when in free or relaxed position. However, when the brassiere 19 is fastened about a wearer, the resilient support wires 21 and 22, having been placed under ten-' sion, bend from their normal straight relation and conform to the body contour of the wearer. This bending of the support wires 21 and 22 is symmetrical about the junction regions between the cups 12 which regions act as central fulcrums when the ends of the support wires are flexed rearwardly. As a result of the tension on the support wires 21 and 22, thejunction region is urged toward the sternum of the wearer, which is a feature of the invention. This feature is exhibited in FIG. 20f the drawing where the cross-sectional portion is taken through one of the cups 12 with the result that the junction region between the cups and portions of the upper and lower support wires 21 and 22, respectively, are shown in eleva-' tion. The upper and lower support wires, having been flexed rearwardly at their ends, are shown as partially conforming to the body contour of the wearer.

The brassiere is put on in the conventional manner by' placing the breasts between the upper and lower support 7 wires 21 and 22, respectively, and in the cups 12, with the lower support wire 22 riding snugly beneath the breasts closely adjacent the lower chestregion of the wearer and spaced a distance from the' cups 12. The rear panels 20 are now joined at the back of the wearer by any common fastening means and tension is developed in the ends of the support wires 21 and 22. As the support wires, under tension, partiallyconform to the body contour of the wearer, the junction region between the cups 12 is urged toward and firmly against the sternum of the wearer at the separation of the breasts. The brassiere, now riding relat'vely high on the breasts and urged against the sternum of the wearer at the separation of the breasts, serves to support the breasts in a youthful and molded manner while, at the same time, allowing freedom of movement and protection from undesired cleavage.

The upper support wire 21 and the lower support wire 22 as seen in FIG. 2, fit circumferentially of the breasts and closely adjacent the chest of the wearer. Consequently, when the brassiere is fastened about the body the tension introduced is transmitted to the support wires 21 and 22 which cause the junction region 25 of the brassiere 10 to fit snugly against the sternum but prevent a flattening of the breasts that occurs when lateral tension is applied across the conical surfaces of the cups 12.

While both the upper and lower support wires are used inthepreferred form of the invention, it should be noted that the floating lower support wire can be used in a brassiere construction where the upper support wire is omitted, particularly when the invention is designed for smaller well separated breasts. In addition, while the present invention is particularly adapted for use with strapless brassieres where slipping is a problem, it may also be used with brassieres having shoulder straps, suggested by dotted lines 50 in FIG. 1, in which event the lower support wire 21 will urge the zone of the garment between the cups toward the wearers sternum for maintaining separation of the cups, protecting against undesired cleavage and aiding in the support of the garment. Finally, the invention can be incorporated not only in the long-line type brassiere shown but also in shorter or bandeau type brassieres.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the invention I has been disclosed and discussed, it will be understood securing said support member body-encircling member solely at said mid-portion and that other applications of the invention are possible and that the embodiment disclosed may be subjected to various changes, modifications and substitutionswithout necessarily departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A brassiere, comprising: a body-encircling member; a pair of cups formed in said member, said cups being positioned and dimensioned to receive the breasts of the wearer; a support member including a pair of curved portions dimensioned to underlie and support the breasts of the wearer and extending upwardly between the proximal and distal sides of said cups to form an upper midportion and upper extreme portions; and means pivotally to the inner side of said said extreme portions adjacent the proximal and distal sides of said cups whereby the curved portions are free of said cups.

I 2. A brassiere, comprising: a body-encircling member;

a pair of cups formed in said member; a support member between said fastening means of generally double U configuration dimensioned to underlie and support the breasts of the wearer and including a mid-portion extending upwardly between said cups and extreme portions extending upwardly at the upper axillary regions of the cups; means pivotally fastening said support member by said mid-portion and by its extreme portions to said body-encircling member at the bodycontacting side thereof, the portions of said support member being free of said bodyencircling member.

3 A brassiere, comprising: a body-encircling member; a pair of cups formed in said member, said cups being positioned and dimensioned to receive the breasts of the wearer; an upper support member including a pair of curved portions dimensioned to delineate the upper margins of the cups and extending downwardly between the proximal and distal sides thereof to form a lower midportion and lower extreme portions; means extending substantially the length of said upper supportmember for securing said upper support member to said body-encircling member; a lower support member including a pair of curved portions dimensioned to underlie and'support the breasts of the wearer, and extending upwardly between the proximal and distal sides of said cups to 'form an upper mid-portion and upper extreme portions, disposed adjacent the lower mid-portion and lower extreme portions of said upper support member; and means pivotally securing said lower support member to the inner side of said. body-encircling member solely at said upper midportion and upper extreme portions, whereby the curved portions of said upper support are free of said bodyencircling member.

4. A brassiere, comprising: a body-encircling member;

a pair of cups formed in said member; an upper support member of generally inverted double U configuration dimensioned to delineate the upper margins of said cups, and including a downwardly directed mid-portion extending between said cups and downwardly directed extreme porj tions at the axillary regions thereof; means for fastening said upper support member along its length to the upper margins of said cups; a lower support member of generally double U configuration dimensioned to underlie and support the wearers breasts, and including an upwardly directed mid-portion extending between said cups and extreme portions extending upwardly at the axillary regions of the cups, the respective mid-portions and extreme portions of said support members terminating in proximity to each other; means pivotally securing said lower support member to the inner side of said body-encircling member solely by its mid-portion and extreme portions whereby the curved portions therebetween hang free.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Feltheimer Mar. 26, 1878 Pons Mar. 31, 1931 Freedman Aug. 29, 1950 Schwaiger April 20, 1954 Kahn April 9, 1957 Gold Mar. 17, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS France July 21, 1954 France Mar. 25, 1957 

